Three Bears Alaska has begun work at the site of its latest acquisition: The Wasilla-based retail chain is now planning to build a grocery store in Delta Junction.
A Three Bears crew began working earlier this month on the 3.5-acre site in downtown Delta where the Buffalo Center Service gas station/convenience store was located.
Three Bears Vice President for Business Development Joan Travostino says the company intends to demolish a building on the east side of the property this summer and begin work on a 28,000 square foot grocery store there.
Travostino said in an interview that the company also plans to tear down another building on the site that houses the convenience store and garage. Workers also will relocate fuel tanks and gas pumps over to the south side of the property.
She said the company is still developing its plans, so the project timeframe is not yet firm.
When the work is completed, the Three Bears store in Delta will be the company’s 22nd retail outlet. All but one are located in Alaska; that one is in Butte, Montana.
Three Bears has been acquiring new properties around the state ever since the company entered into a deal two years ago with a Seattle-based private-equity firm that provided capital for investment. Last year, Three Bears opened gas station/convenience stores last year in Ester and North Pole.
Meanwhile, the company continues developing a retail complex with a full-service grocery store and other retail outlets off Buzby Drive on the south side of North Pole.
Tim Ellis is a reporter at KUAC in Fairbanks.
